Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 17,873, settled in 1880.
Spanish Lake earns a D, 225th among Missouri's 247 graded towns, mostly because of health and schools. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 96% of the country. Its schools rank behind 87% of the state's. One bright spot: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 74% of U.S. towns. 49% of households own their home in Spanish Lake, below both the Missouri town median (64%) and the median of U.S. towns (73%). Wilson Larimore House is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Spanish Lake beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Spanish Lake’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Spanish Lake is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 15,647 in 1970, 18,413 in 2020. The archive holds 6 maps from 1927 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Spanish Lake. Close and well known come first.
Big draw12 mi State parkCahokia
Big draw11 mi Stadium & arenaThe Dome at America's Center
12 mi Stadium & arenaBusch Stadium
11 mi National ParkGateway Arch National Park2.2M visitors a year
8 mi Ancient sitePiasa
12 mi LandmarkMonks MoundCahokia: Thank You (24 Millions ) views, CC BY 2.0 · The Dome at America's Center: Paul Sableman, CC BY 2.0 · Busch Stadium: Lee Ann Ratledge, CC BY 4.0 · Gateway Arch National Park: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Piasa: Burfalcy, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Monks Mound: Skubasteve834, CC BY-SA 3.0
Spanish Lake is unincorporated, so St. Louis County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Spanish Lake.
40% of Spanish Lake adults feel lonely. Spanish Lake beats the Missouri average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 20. 29% of Spanish Lake adults say their health is fair or poor.
| Spanish Lake | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 32% | 33% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 15% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 12% | 12% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 38% | 36% |
| What stands out | Spanish Lake | MO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.3% | 8.6% |
| Fewer binge drinkers | 12.6% | 16.3% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 22.7% | 9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Hazelwood school district. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southeast MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 491 | D |
| Hazelwood East HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,310 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
5.2 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. Spanish Lake Park, at 244 acres with 5.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Spanish Lake’s trail density is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Spanish Lake | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.9% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Spanish Lake Park | 5.1 mi | 244 |
| 2. Larimore Road Park | — | 28 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 1.9 years of the St. Louis metro’s $80K median household income, the typical home (about $149K) costs less against local pay than in 91% of Missouri towns; that ratio is one input to its B for cost of living. 59.1% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 45.6% across Missouri.
The typical Spanish Lake home is worth about $149,000, up 2.8% in a year, 44% below the Missouri typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Most working residents leave Spanish Lake for work: only 2% work in town. Since 2013, Spanish Lake has added 282 jobs, to 2,206 in 2023. 15% of residents live below the poverty line in Spanish Lake.
| Spanish Lake | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 2.3% | 13% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $56,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Spanish Lake has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 23° and about 11 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 55% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 17 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Spanish Lake.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
18 within 15 miles of the center of Spanish Lake
About 6 of every 100 Spanish Lake residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Missouri.
Place in Missouri, United States
Spanish Lake is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Spanish Lake and St. Ferdinand townships, St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 18,413 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Spanish Lake.
| Town | MO rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish Lake | #225 | D | B | — | D | D− |
| Bellefontaine Neighbors | #245 | D− | B+ | D | D | D− |
| Glasgow Village | #240 | D | B | — | D− | D− |
| Old Jamestown | #195 | C− | C | — | D | B− |
| St. Louis | #227 | D | B | D− | D− | C |
Spanish Lake, Glasgow Village and Old Jamestown report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Spanish Lake with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Spanish Lake grades D overall, better than 9% of U.S. towns and #225 of 247 in Missouri. It grades D− for health and D for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 1.9 years of the area's median household income ($80,196 across the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
.jpg){kind=link}
